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Shuranon
Shuranon was once the greatest of the Lagikanthropoi states, having a more advanced form of government in the form of a republic in contrast to the more traditional monarchy maintained by other Lagikanthropoi states. Shuranon was also the most advanced and powerful of the Lagikanthropoi states, but is now a colonial client state under Arche Hellenike. Society and Culture Shuranon's societal culture was under a class system of 6 classes, at least before the Treaty of Shindo: At the highest were the Scholars and the Financiers dubbed the Mahanai, the second class filled by the Priests and Judges dubbed Babani. The third class was filled by Warriors and Administrators dubbed Ksanti. The fourth class consisted of the specialists of both technical and artist fields dubbed Nirminti, the fifth class of commoners dubbed Samari, and the last class which is reminiscent of the Burakumin dubbed Malimani. The Shuranese class system was not hereditary, at least to a point. The lower classes were indeed dynamic: proving one's skill allowed the members of 5th class and the 6th class to become a Nirmin, and this was true even for a Maliman. Nonetheless, given inequality of opportunity, it was much more difficult for a Maliman to become a Nirmin than for a Samar to become a Nirmin. In times of war, it was possible for a member of the lower class to become a Ksanti. However, this was much more difficult than becoming a Nirmin: to become a Ksant, an entire line of a pre-existing Ksanti family must have been wiped out or be shamed out. The legal status differences, aside from the social standing, between classes are clear but surprisingly smaller than what would be expected: Mahanai are exempt from all taxes except the inheritance tax, Babani are exempt from head taxes and income taxes but still levied taxes like estate tax, and all others are required to pay all taxes that apply. After that, only the Mahanai, and Babani are eligible to become representatives in the Grand Council, or become governors of provinces (this open to Ksanti), but government roles besides leadership is open to all. Malimani are technically legal to hold government positions such as accountants, but given the social stigma, only one Malimani ever acquired a government position in the history of Shuranon. However, unlike the traditional class system, interclass marriage is not forbidden in most cases, except between the Malimani and the upper 2 classes. However, offsprings of such marriages are always tested. A successful test could mean even an offspring of a Samar could become a Mahana if a marriage with a Mahana could be arranged. In fact, the upper classes often sought out lower-class people with talent, since a good offspring would guarantee that the next generation of the family will remain that class. For example, good memory was often a trait sought out by the Babani, since a failure to outdo a Ksant challenge in law memorization or religious text memorization could get them kicked out into becoming Samari or Malimani if the performance was very poor. On the other hand, because merit had plenty of say in the class system, the Nirmanti, or at least the capable ones, often had great leverage on marriage. The Nirmanti advantage in Shuranese society came from the fact that the State of Shuranon has a state ritual in which the state purchases a work of art and dedicate it to the Grand Temple at its capital Goriganaran as a sign to commemorate their position as the favored of the gods. Obviously, the artist that created the work of art would gain prestige for the family, and this meant that the families of higher classes sought out the artists to raise the family name, and perhaps gain enough funds to aim to become a Mahanai family since the State of Shuranon pays a high but fixed (but scaled for inflation) amount of money for the work of art. Because of this, patronage itself is also an entrenched part of the Shuranese culture in addition to semi-meritocratic elements in marriage. Likewise, the pure scholar-type Mahanai also seek Nirmanti skill either because they are of the cultural type and great works of art would support their great work as well, or they are of the scientific type and practical applications of their findings could advance their names. While this covers the legal status and more positive elements of the Shuranese class system, as stated above the Malimani are the untouchable class, facing discrimination including but not limited to being refused service in business, separate and unequal facilities, the aforementioned limitation to government position both de jure and de facto, segregation in ceremonies, and so on. This is considered barbaric in say the modern Baekryeoh, Tropas Libre, the postmodern Arche Hellenike, and the egalitarian Lagikoi society. In fact, the Arche victory in the Xenophobic War led to the abolition of the Malimani class as one of the terms of the Treaty of Shindo.